This handbook was truly a team effort. Though it took a lot of time and coordination to complete, we have been successful because we broke the larger project into smaller steps that ensured everyone played a vital role.
First, we decided on a grade level. We chose middle school because, though a few of us do not teach at this level, we were interested in learning more about how libraries operate in these grades. Next, we decided to create individual discussion threads in Blackboard for each of the 17 topics the handbook covers. We wanted to use the Blackboard space as a place to post our respective districts’ policies, discuss them, and share drafts of the final procedures and policies.
After this, we knew it would be crucial to divide labor fairly and to set some deadlines to make sure everything would be completed on time. We decided that each person would take on chief responsibility for three of the 17 topics. Each team member would contribute her own biography for topic 17, and one member would tackle four topics. We thought about how some policies would take longer than others to describe, while some were fairly simple to write, and tried to divide up the work evenly. We also decided that each of us would edit one other person’s work, one person would look over the Wiki globally for consistency in language and format, and one would help with visual appeal. Once we laid this groundwork, the chips fell into place and the handbook came together nicely!
For more information about individual contributions, see the biographies below.
Who We Are:
Kate Flynn
Bio: For this Wiki, I created the Circulation System Procedures, the Lost Book Policy and the Selection Procedures from information shared by my group regarding their own county policies. I located and shared information on Blackboard about Frederick County Public School's policies and procedures. I gathered this information from the secure side of the FCPS media page, as well as through multiple conversations with Jennifer Siderius, the school librarian at New Market Elementary School. I sought permission from Mary Jo Richmond, the Coordinator of Library Media Specialists for FCPS, to post to the Wiki, screenshots, videos and content from the secure side of the FCPS media website. I edited my peers' work and provided feedback on initial drafts. I was instrumental in helping coordinate the division of work, as well as, how to approach editing final drafts.
Reflection: This project was particularly challenging for our group in that we had members representing four counties -- some distant from one another. My initial concerns pertained to the fact that this would all need to be created virtually. Our team started communicating early in the semester, which put my fears to rest. I have enjoyed working with this highly motivated group. Each of us brought different points of view to the discussion. We were able to work very effectively to create a well-crafted policy manual.
Kelley Fujii
Bio: As part of this team, I specifically reviewed and organized the “Budgeting”, “Cataloging and Processing”, and “Volunteers, Students, and Parents” sections. I contributed information from the FCPS handbooks and secured sites that Mary Jo Richmond, curriculum specialist for Media Specialists, allowed me to access. When members posted their rough drafts, I reflected on them and offered feedback. I did not have any part of organizing the group into assignments or offer suggestions until the end of module three. My teammates did a wonderful job with that long before I started. I was lucky to be placed with such willful and enthusiastic people.
Reflection:I was fascinated with the amount of differences within the four different counties that were in this group. Some areas, such as budgeting, I would have thought would be more uniformed among the counties, but they had many differences. I see the validity in this project as we were forced to see the fine print of the library system and the guidelines that we will have to follow when we are in a center of our own. I did have a hard time accessing the wiki a few times; it would not let me edit my own information, which was odd, as I could edit my peers.
Jennifer Kelley
Bio: For this wiki, I contributed the information on Vendor and Ordering, Reconsideration of Materials, Gift Items and Library Class Schedule. I searched and reviewed many policy handbooks from many different places in and out of the state. This was a great experience that allowed me to see the similarities and differences within these policies. During the course of my investigation and speaking with Justine Perry, Media Specialist at General Smallwood Middle School, I have learned that Charles County is in the process of writing them but many librarians have found it difficult not having these policies in place because they are the backbone of any library program.
Reflection: In the beginning, I was nervous about this project because I knew how far I lived from everyone else. In the end, I found it to be one of my favorite projects and believe that my group worked extremely well together. I want to thank my group members for an outstanding job and for all the support they gave one another. I learned a lot and I believe there is a lot of valuable information in this report.
Well Done Kate F., Kate K., Kelley, and Lisa! Thanks for your support!
Kate Kennedy
Bio: For this project, I took on the role of initial organizer. I created separate pages within this Wiki for each topic, as well as separate discussion threads on BlackBoard for each topic. I also broke down the project into smaller steps and suggested a timeline for when each step should be completed. Finally, I suggested ways to divide up the work so that we would each be contributing fairly. Once all this was done, I tried to complete my parts of the project to the best of my ability and to give constructive feedback to the rest of my group.
Reflection: As we’ve worked our way through the contents of this handbook and discussed some of our decisions, it has dawned on me that each aspect of a school librarian’s job is connected to how accessible the collection is to its patrons. In other words, if there aren’t clear policies and procedures in place for things like budgeting, cataloging, ordering, collection development, and weeding, the library could easily end up a complete mess – outdated, disorganized, and filled with materials that might be irrelevant! This, in turn, would make it harder for students to find what they need for their education and enjoyment. Though working with a group of 5 individuals entirely online seemed like a daunting task at first, I have also learned that not only is it possible to do, it can be a very positive and successful group work experience.
Lisa LeCompte
Bio: For this wiki, I created our policies for Inventory, Hours of Operation and Borrowing, and Ethical Use, Copyright, Plagiarism, Privacy, and First Amendment Rights. In order to do this, I consulted the various documents shared by the members of the group that reflected the policies that our counties are currently following. Throughout this research process I have learned a lot about policy writing and how important it is to tend to the specifics and details. With some policies being much more vague, and others that are very particular, I have learned that clearly outlining the role of the school librarian is most effective in establishing policies that are not easily misinterpreted. I have also learned how outdated policies are almost useless to the school librarian due to the changes in technology and access issues that each county faces.
Reflection: This project has been extremely stressful for me, but only because of the difficulties in accessing this wikispace. I have created a wikispace with a group before in my other SLM classes and have always found the experience to be engaging and meaningful. Not having access and having to rely on what I could read in the discussion forum has left me anxious for days. All in all, I do feel as though our group has worked very well together. Everyone was more than willing to do their part of the assignment, and I am especially thankful for how patient everyone was with me as we worked to iron out my technical issues. I feel as though all of us have learned a great deal about the functioning of an effective library program, and having the experience to work with several different policies also gave us the opportunity to take the best from each, and add our own ideas to make policies that will be useful for any school librarian. I have enjoyed working with my group and feel as though we have accomplished a great online handbook!
Team Statement:
This handbook was truly a team effort. Though it took a lot of time and coordination to complete, we have been successful because we broke the larger project into smaller steps that ensured everyone played a vital role.
First, we decided on a grade level. We chose middle school because, though a few of us do not teach at this level, we were interested in learning more about how libraries operate in these grades. Next, we decided to create individual discussion threads in Blackboard for each of the 17 topics the handbook covers. We wanted to use the Blackboard space as a place to post our respective districts’ policies, discuss them, and share drafts of the final procedures and policies.
After this, we knew it would be crucial to divide labor fairly and to set some deadlines to make sure everything would be completed on time. We decided that each person would take on chief responsibility for three of the 17 topics. Each team member would contribute her own biography for topic 17, and one member would tackle four topics. We thought about how some policies would take longer than others to describe, while some were fairly simple to write, and tried to divide up the work evenly. We also decided that each of us would edit one other person’s work, one person would look over the Wiki globally for consistency in language and format, and one would help with visual appeal. Once we laid this groundwork, the chips fell into place and the handbook came together nicely!
For more information about individual contributions, see the biographies below.
Who We Are:
Kate Flynn
Bio: For this Wiki, I created the Circulation System Procedures, the Lost Book Policy and the Selection Procedures from information shared by my group regarding their own county policies. I located and shared information on Blackboard about Frederick County Public School's policies and procedures. I gathered this information from the secure side of the FCPS media page, as well as through multiple conversations with Jennifer Siderius, the school librarian at New Market Elementary School. I sought permission from Mary Jo Richmond, the Coordinator of Library Media Specialists for FCPS, to post to the Wiki, screenshots, videos and content from the secure side of the FCPS media website. I edited my peers' work and provided feedback on initial drafts. I was instrumental in helping coordinate the division of work, as well as, how to approach editing final drafts.
Reflection: This project was particularly challenging for our group in that we had members representing four counties -- some distant from one another. My initial concerns pertained to the fact that this would all need to be created virtually. Our team started communicating early in the semester, which put my fears to rest. I have enjoyed working with this highly motivated group. Each of us brought different points of view to the discussion. We were able to work very effectively to create a well-crafted policy manual.
Kelley Fujii
Bio: As part of this team, I specifically reviewed and organized the “Budgeting”, “Cataloging and Processing”, and “Volunteers, Students, and Parents” sections. I contributed information from the FCPS handbooks and secured sites that Mary Jo Richmond, curriculum specialist for Media Specialists, allowed me to access. When members posted their rough drafts, I reflected on them and offered feedback. I did not have any part of organizing the group into assignments or offer suggestions until the end of module three. My teammates did a wonderful job with that long before I started. I was lucky to be placed with such willful and enthusiastic people.
Reflection:I was fascinated with the amount of differences within the four different counties that were in this group. Some areas, such as budgeting, I would have thought would be more uniformed among the counties, but they had many differences. I see the validity in this project as we were forced to see the fine print of the library system and the guidelines that we will have to follow when we are in a center of our own. I did have a hard time accessing the wiki a few times; it would not let me edit my own information, which was odd, as I could edit my peers.
Jennifer Kelley
Bio: For this wiki, I contributed the information on Vendor and Ordering, Reconsideration of Materials, Gift Items and Library Class Schedule. I searched and reviewed many policy handbooks from many different places in and out of the state. This was a great experience that allowed me to see the similarities and differences within these policies. During the course of my investigation and speaking with Justine Perry, Media Specialist at General Smallwood Middle School, I have learned that Charles County is in the process of writing them but many librarians have found it difficult not having these policies in place because they are the backbone of any library program.
Reflection: In the beginning, I was nervous about this project because I knew how far I lived from everyone else. In the end, I found it to be one of my favorite projects and believe that my group worked extremely well together. I want to thank my group members for an outstanding job and for all the support they gave one another. I learned a lot and I believe there is a lot of valuable information in this report.
Well Done Kate F., Kate K., Kelley, and Lisa! Thanks for your support!
Kate Kennedy
Bio: For this project, I took on the role of initial organizer. I created separate pages within this Wiki for each topic, as well as separate discussion threads on BlackBoard for each topic. I also broke down the project into smaller steps and suggested a timeline for when each step should be completed. Finally, I suggested ways to divide up the work so that we would each be contributing fairly. Once all this was done, I tried to complete my parts of the project to the best of my ability and to give constructive feedback to the rest of my group.
Reflection: As we’ve worked our way through the contents of this handbook and discussed some of our decisions, it has dawned on me that each aspect of a school librarian’s job is connected to how accessible the collection is to its patrons. In other words, if there aren’t clear policies and procedures in place for things like budgeting, cataloging, ordering, collection development, and weeding, the library could easily end up a complete mess – outdated, disorganized, and filled with materials that might be irrelevant! This, in turn, would make it harder for students to find what they need for their education and enjoyment. Though working with a group of 5 individuals entirely online seemed like a daunting task at first, I have also learned that not only is it possible to do, it can be a very positive and successful group work experience.
Lisa LeCompte
Bio: For this wiki, I created our policies for Inventory, Hours of Operation and Borrowing, and Ethical Use, Copyright, Plagiarism, Privacy, and First Amendment Rights. In order to do this, I consulted the various documents shared by the members of the group that reflected the policies that our counties are currently following. Throughout this research process I have learned a lot about policy writing and how important it is to tend to the specifics and details. With some policies being much more vague, and others that are very particular, I have learned that clearly outlining the role of the school librarian is most effective in establishing policies that are not easily misinterpreted. I have also learned how outdated policies are almost useless to the school librarian due to the changes in technology and access issues that each county faces.
Reflection: This project has been extremely stressful for me, but only because of the difficulties in accessing this wikispace. I have created a wikispace with a group before in my other SLM classes and have always found the experience to be engaging and meaningful. Not having access and having to rely on what I could read in the discussion forum has left me anxious for days. All in all, I do feel as though our group has worked very well together. Everyone was more than willing to do their part of the assignment, and I am especially thankful for how patient everyone was with me as we worked to iron out my technical issues. I feel as though all of us have learned a great deal about the functioning of an effective library program, and having the experience to work with several different policies also gave us the opportunity to take the best from each, and add our own ideas to make policies that will be useful for any school librarian. I have enjoyed working with my group and feel as though we have accomplished a great online handbook!